This invention relates to grills and especially to grills have heavy top hoods.
Bar-b-que grills and smokers have existed for centuries. Today""s grills typically include a lower tub and a hood adapted to mate with the top of the lower tub. The grill also includes a food grate mounted adjacent the top of the lower tub and either a gas burner or a specified area for charcoal or the like adjacent the bottom of the lower tub.
In the past, the hood has been coupled to the lower tub through many different types of hinges. One type of hinge, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,141, has one end pivotally mounted to a forward portion of the hood and an opposite end pivotally mounted to a rearward portion of the tub. While this type of hinge works adequately with light hoods, such is not practical with hoods have a substantial weight as the wieght of the hood causes the hinge to close.
Grills have also been adapted to include hinges coupling the hood to the tub in a manner to allow the hood to be pivoted to a position wherein the center of gravity of the hood is positioned past the position of the hinge, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,822. Once the hood is moved to its fully open position the hoods center of gravity prevents it from pivoting back to its closed position. This positioning of the hood however places a great deal of pressure upon the hinge. As such, this type of arrangement practically may not be utilized with a grill having a heavy hood.
Recently, ceramic grills and smokers made in the tradition of Asian Kamado grills have gained popularity. These grills have both a lower tub and a hood made of thick ceramic material. As such, the hood of these grills are extremely heavy. Some such grills have simply had the hood disconnected from the tub, thus requiring the placement of the hood on the ground when one opens the grill. This approach to opening the grill during use is both inconvenient and unsanitary. Ceramic grills have also included two locking hinges on opposite sides of the grill, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 420,243, which is also designed by the present inventor. As an operator must manually actuate both hinges to unlock them while simultaneously holding the grill hood these hinges have proved to be inadequate.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a grill having a hinge that may be utilized with a heavy grill hood. It is the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.
In a preferred form of the invention, a grill comprises a tub, a hood configured to mate with the tub, and a hinge pivotally coupling the tub with the hood for reciprocal movement between a hood closed position and a hood open position. The hinge has a first portion having a latch and a second portion having a spring biased catch configured to releasable hold the latch. With this construction, pivotal movement of the hood from its hood closed position to its hood open position causes the latch to be received by the spring biased catch so as to maintain the hood in its open position.